


Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Iron Irony

by Man0nDM00



Series: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Iron Irony [1]
Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Adventure, Gen, game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-23 22:47:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8345737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Man0nDM00/pseuds/Man0nDM00
Summary: Taiki Hanamura is a 24-year old total shut-in and does nothing but play games. On one night when he went to buy snacks at the convenient store, he was suddenly attacked by a mugger and was stabbed in the gut with a knife.When he woke up, Taiki sees that he's in a forest, and weird enough, he doesn't feel the pain of being attacked, as though it was a dream. Even weirder than that, he realizes that he turned into a Pokémon. And the most weird of all, he ironically turned into a Pawniard, a Pokémon with blades for hands!! How will he survive in this mysterious Pokémon world when he's too traumatized to use his blades?!





	1. Prologue

The last thing I remembered was the knife. 

The knife that sinked in to my stomach, like it was sheathed inside. I remembered feeling the blood ooze out of my gut, painting my shirt inside-out. I fell on my knees, and I instinctively look at the man who did this to me. The horrible look on the attacker's face. It wasn't a face of someone who's mad, but a face of someone who made a mistake. As though killing a guy wasn't part of his plan. You think that face will make me forgive you?!

I remembered the face I made on my final breath. It was angry. Frustrated. And in pain.

I've done nothing wrong! I never wanted to be part of this goddamn society! All I did was stay at home. I only go out to buy food. Why me?! I haven't finished my list latest games yet!!

 

But that's over now. There's no point scorning my killer or worrying about my games, because I'm in a bigger predicament right now.

I wake up in a forest.  
Haha, I know what you're thinking. "You were attacked in a forest? No wonder you were targeted!" Well of course that would most likely be the case. The thing is, I live in Tokyo. I was attacked on the street. There was no plant in sight. So how is it that I wake up in a place full of it?

I could feel the warm sunlight passing through the leaves. Is this some kind of heaven? I look at the trees and see that they're way bigger than the usual trees I see in parks.

Ok, so we established where I am, now let's tackle the biggest problem--I look at my hands and see that they're not hands, but blades. Short, steel blades the shape of knives, extending from my wrist to where my hand is supposed to be. I see that even my limbs, hell, my whole body has changed! The trees aren't bigger, I realized. I just got smaller.  
From the bladed-hands I see my limbs are in a dark shade of red. My feet are rounded in width, with a pair of what I think are white nails on each foot. My body has gotten significantly shorter in stature and my torso has become slightly rounded but instead of red it's a blackish grey, with two thin lines vertically traced. Four steel spikes protrude from my torso, two on each side connected by steel ribs. I also look slightly upward and see that on my forehead is a an even bigger blade protruding out like a horn.  
If someone else was in my situation they would most certainly panic and maybe even hyperventilate. But I am no fool. I take a few breaths and try to stand.  
Hmm, so far so good. I bend my limbs and do a little stretching. It feels kinda weird being the size of a little toddler. I try poking my skin with my knife-hands, and confirmed that they are quite smooth and a little harder than regular skin. It seems that I can even feel what my knives are touchings, which is really weird. I guess they're really are my hands. I look directly at my knife-hands and it reflects my face on it like a mirror. I see that I have yellow eyes and small black pupils. I have no nose or mouth but I can still breathe and smell.

[Ah..aaah..*ahem*]

Hmm, seems like I can speak. Without a mouth. It's like my face is behind a mask. But the mask is literally a part of me. Again, weird. But anyways, I know now what has become of me.  
I believe I have already mentioned that I am a total shut-in and play games all the time. Well, among the various games I've played, one of those is Pokémon. I have played every version of the main series and its spinoffs. I've read Pokédexes like encyclopedias, and I've bred, traded, and even participated in online competitions.

Based on my life-spent knowledge, I get the idea of what's going on.  
Yep, it's official: I've turned into a Pokémon.  
A Pawniard at that.  
I stare at my face on my knife-hands. Knife-hands... Knives... The attack on that night... The blood...

Seriously, out of all Pokémon I would turn into, why does it have to be a Pawniard?!?!?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *NOTE: This fanfic is written in Japanese Light Novel style. Which means it'll have the following:  
> *Conversations in [] and not in "" (no speaker indications)  
> *Japanese honorifics such as "-san", "-kun", "-chan", "-sensei", "-sama", etc.  
> *Japanese onomatopoetic sounds such as *don!* *gan!* *dokidoki*, etc.  
> *NOTE: Names however will be in their translated English names (such as Pawniard instead of Komatana) to prevent confusion while reading. 
> 
> **Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy this fanfic series from here on out. :]


	2. The World I'm In

OK, time to think. And when you think, especially on situations like these, you ask yourself questions. 

1\. Where am I?  
2\. How did I get here?  
3\. How did I turn into a Pokémon?  
4\. What version am I in?  
5\. Is this a dream or a real world?

Hmmm. Question 1 is self-explanatory. I am in a forest. Done.  
"Am I in the human world?" Some may ask. That question is also self-explanatory and stupid. Of course this isn't the human world.  
Following game plot, questions 2 and 3 are usually explained late in the game. You can imagine a mysterious character revealing itself to you like,  
[BEHOLD! I AM ARCEUS! AND I HAVE DESCENDED UPON YOU TO...]  
and then blabber about your destiny and stuff. So even if I try to ponder about it the whole time, it's not like my answers are gonna fall from the sky. So let's ignore them for now.  
Personally, I prefer free-roaming games. I get to do whatever and whenever I want with the way I want to do things. So when I play games like Pokémon, I usually just play through the entire plot quickly, so that I could focus on my competitive teams afterwards.  
For question 4, since I'm a Pawniard it's most likely that I'm in the 5th or 6th generation, that being Black and White or X and Y. So I may be in a forest in Unova or Kalos.  
As for question 5...does it even matter? Whether it be a dream or reality, the ending is usually me returning home. But wait, I died, so will I return dead or back before I went outside? If that's the case, I prefer to stay here. If this is another chance at life I'd might as well take it. 

Now then, with thinking done, it's time I move. If this is a forest, I need to know how big it is.  
I look around for the tallest looking tree and stab at its trunk. From here I continue to stab upward, and BOOM. KNIFE CLIMBING.  
Once I got to the canopy, I was suddenly attacked by warm sunlight and a cool breeze. GAAAHH THE OUTSIDE!! As a shut-in it's hard to get used to it. I stare at the vast, open sky. It's bright, and the sun doesn't seem to be at it's highest peak, so it must be morning. The sun is to my left, so that must mean I'm facing south. 

Ha! You think a guy shut-in geek like me wouldn't survive in the wilderness. Well think again! I have played multiple zombie and apocalyptic games, and my wild imaginations told me to be prepared for the worst outcome, and so I did. THE POWER OF GOOGLE!!

Anyway, I start looking around. 

[...This is a big forest.]

From the looks of it this forest streches out for a few miles. To the west is a valley, probably 10-20km away. Behind me to the north, I could see a bright green line on the horizon. This might be a meadow. To the east and south are more trees.  
Hmmm, if I'm gonna need a better understanding of the geography of this world, I need a better view, and the valley is my best bet. To the west I go then. 

But just when I started to climb down, a branch a stepped on broke. 

[Oh cra-AAAAAAAAAA--!!]

*THUD!!*

[Owww...]

That wasn't me. I think I landed on something soft, so I look below me. 

[Ah.]  
[H-hey!! Get off of me!]

I got off, and when I gave the Pokémon another look, it seems I fell on a Weedle. 

[That hurt! What's the big idea you--Eep!!]

It was complaining as it was getting up until it saw me. I find it strange how it's able to talk, even more how I'm able to understand it. I hear Japanese coming out of it, so does that mean that the language here are translated to mine in my mind? While of thinking this I notice the Weedle bowing its head at me and shaking uncontrollably. 

[I-I'm sorry!! Please forgive me!!]  
[...Eh?]

I think I saw sweat running down on its head. Is it because I'm a Pawniard?

[Hey, relax. I just wanna--]  
[WAAAAHH!!! Help me---!!!!!]

It squirmed off into the wood so fast it made me question the laws of physics of this world. But that's not important. 

[H-hey! Wait!]

I run in after it. 

The chase took a few minutes, but I finally got the Weedle cornered in a small clearing. Surprisingly, we've ran quite a long distance, with some obstacles such as roots and bushes, but I don't feel tired at all. In fact I feel like I run a few miles. Being a Pokémon is so cool. 

[WAAAAH!! I'M CORNERED!!]  
[Finally. Listen I just wanna talk.]  
[He..hehe]

I hear the Weedle snickering and I see it giving me a smirk. 

[Eh?]  
[Hehehehe!! You fool!! I got YOU CORNERED!!! Now guys!]

All of a sudden lines of silky thread were spun around me. Could this be String Shot?!

*ting!*  
*ting!*  
*ting!*  
*ting!*

What was that? I suddenly hear consequent ringing in my head. That's weird.

More Weedle came squirming out of the bushes. I count a total of four of them. Counting the first Weedle, I'm facing off against a "horde". 

[Hehehe! What are you gonna do now, Pawniard!]  
[[[[Yeah! Yeah!]]]]

I feel like I've unlocked a weird cutscene. And what's with their stereotypical gangster attitude? But tropes aside, it seems I got myself in a 'sticky 'trap. Pfft--get it? ...OK, moving on. 

[What do you want?]  
[You be quiet! We're the ones who makes demands here!]  
[Yea, I just asked that.]  
[I said quiet!!]

I can't help but see this situation as silly. I mean, getting surrounded by a group thugs, sure. But Weedle? 

[You're only scary when you're with your pack, but if it's just you, you're nothing but a target to us!!]  
[[[[YEAH! YEAH!]]]]

..."Target"? I suddenly remember the attack of that night. The memory made me nauseous. OK, now I'm agitated. Don't make me remember that horrid feeling, you stupid Weedle. 

[AIM AT HIS BACK!! THEY'RE NO BLADES THERE!!]  
[[[[OOOHHH!!!!]]]]

It's kinda clever of them to target my back since it's just blades upfront. But these Pokémon are really stupid, aren't they? I stand still waiting for them. 

They all charge at me with their horns ready.  
[[[[[Poison Sting!!]]]]]

Their horns hit my back dead center. I didn't even flinch. 

[W-what?!]

Apparently not all Pokémon are aware of their types. Poison Sting is a Poison-type move, but since I'm also a Steel-type, there's no effect. 

And another thing. Their String Shots only spun around my torso and arms. Not my legs. 

[Playtime's over.]

I gave a sudden roundhouse kick to the Weedles behind, and to my surprise I hit all of them at once and knocked them away. Some landed on the bushes while the others hit the trees. That must have hurt.  
Well, it was probably because my kick felt really strong. It was my first time kicking (here AND back at Tokyo) but I could strangely feel that it stronger than it was meant to be. Ah, now that I think about it, I was hit by String Shots just now. String Shot sharply lowers the Speed stat, but instead of feeling slower I felt stronger. It must be because of Pawniard's, well MY ability, Defiant, which instead of having my stats lowered, my Attack stats sharply rise instead. So I guess that's what the ringing was. It was a "notification".  
Notifications are those small texts on the lower screen whenever you do something in the game. Is this how a notification feels like in RPG games?  
I heard four rings, so it must mean that I was hit by String Shot four times, so that ALSO means my Attack has been raised by a lot. 

*ting!*  
There it is again. Suddenly I hear another ring in my head. It's like my mind just remembered something. So did I just do a Pokémon move?  
If that's the case, then I must have done a Feint Attack. Feint Attack, as the name implies, lends out a surprise attack to the opponent.  
From what I remember, Pawniard learns that move on level 17. So I must be around that level.  
Hmmm, Feint Attack only hits one target at a time, so I guess the rules of the moves are more realistic here, huh?

I walk towards the leader-Weedle while I cut myself loose. The other Weedles start to flee.  
I could have actually just cut my bindings immediately and counter them, but I don't want to use my hands.  
These accursed hands... They keep reminding me of my death. I absolutely hate that feeling. I don't think I'll ever use them in battle. I don't even want to look at them. 

[R-run!!]  
[UWAAAAH!!!]

Some teamwork you guys have. I see the leader trying to flee as well, but when it looked back at me I gave it a menacing stare. 

[Where do you think you're going?]  
[Hiii--!!]

*ting!*  
I notice the Weedle moving slower. That just now must be the effect of Scary Face. So that means I'm actually level 22.  
The Weedle turns around and bows down to me again. I think it understands it can't run away now. 

[I-I'm sorry!! I really am sorry!! I didn't mean to, I just wanted to get back to Bisharp for hurting us the other day! Please don't tell him!]  
[Bisharp?]

Oh yeah, they mentioned about me not being with my pack. Ah. That's right, according to the Pokédex entries Pawniard travel in packs, with Bisharp as their leader.  
Now what to do with this guy? Well, I need information. So now's the perfect time. 

[I won't hurt you. I just wanted to ask some questions.]  
[B-but you did hurt me!!]  
[Because you guys attacked me first. I fought in self-defense.]  
[I-I...see. You're right, I'm sorry.]

Hm, it seems the Weedle finally calmed down. I squat down in front of it and begin to ask my questions. 

[Alright, so first question: where am I?]  
[Where...? Are you perhaps lost?]  
[You can say that. I just woke up to find myself here.]

Of course, revealing that I was human is definitely a no-go. Doing so would lead to a series of flag-triggering events, and I don't want that. 

[I see. Well, you're in the Lake of Trees.]  
[The Lake of Trees?]  
[Yeah. If you go to the corners of this forest you'll notice that the ground of this place is actually lower than the outskirts. So when it rains it gets quite flooded here. You have to be careful.]  
[I see. That helps, thanks.]  
[...You're actually quite polite, aren't you?]  
[Well I told you I just wanted to talk.]  
[R-right. I'm sorry. So what else do you want to ask?]

A lot actually. But I don't think Weedle will be able to answer them well, so I just ask him the questions I need to know for the moment.

[That Bisharp you mentioned, where is he now?]  
[They only passed by this forest a few days ago. I think they were heading east of here.]

East, huh. That's good. I don't want to encounter him and the pack of Pawniard. From what I hear from Weedle, they seemed very threatening. Add threatening with knives and blades, then you got something that I won't ever want to face again. 

[Are you going to where Bisharp is?]  
[No, actually the opposite. I plan on heading to the valley to west.]  
[Oh, so are you going to sign up as an adventurer in the Lighthouse then?]  
I jump up in shock.  
[ADVENTURER?!]

OK, now I'm absolutely certain which game-world I'm in.  
I'm in the world of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. But wait, that means--

[--So we're in a mystery dungeon?!]  
[Eh? You didn't know?]

 

Well, this changes everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *This is meant to be the first official chapter. The Prologue was meant to be a Chapter 0 or sort.


	3. Mystery Dungeons

OK OK OK.  
*phew*  
OK.  
Calm down, me. Seriously, I don't know what I'm feeling right now. Is this panic or is this excitement? Excitement because HOLY CRAP I CAN BE AN ADVENTURER?! IN THE POKÉMON WORLD?! AS A POKÉMON?! SIGN! ME! UP!!!  
Or panic because IT'S A MYSTERY DUNGEON. MYSTERIOUS BECAUSE IT IS DANGEROUS. I. HATE. DANGER. 

For now, I should go back to our conversation before Weedle notices me staring into space. 

[S-so since we're in a Mystery Dungeon, what floor are we in?]  
[Hmmm. I'm pretty sure we're on the 5th floor.]  
[I see. How many floors until we reach the exit?]  
[Just one before we reach the end of the first half. The Lake of Trees consists of 12 floors.]

I see. 5th floor, huh? Usually in the franchise the player starts the mystery dungeon on the 1st floor. So it's strange how I ended up on the 5th. Speaking of which, from a realistic perspective, how the hell can there be levels of floors on a flat surface?!

[How the hell can there be levels of floors on a flat surface?!]  
Ah. I just thought out loud.  
[...You're really not from around here, huh? Could this perhaps be your first trip in a mystery dungeon?]  
[Aah...Y-yeah. Yeah, that's right.]

Weedle tilts its head and gives me a this-guy's-totally-weird look. I hope he doesn't probe further. It's going to be a real pain to try to come up with a lie about where I come from. But I should go back to problem at hand. 

[So how does it work then?]  
[Hmmm.]  
Weedle turns its head to the side.  
[Even if you ask me, it's kinda hard to explain.]  
Of course it is.  
[OK. So, ummm, it's like....]

And so Weedle tried to explain to me about mystery dungeons. It took me a while and truthfully it was hard to intrpret what it's talking about because it makes a lot of pauses and retraces, and makes a lot of useless sounds like  
[If you do this it'll go *gaaan!* or if you don't it'll go *duduuun!*]  
until finally it usually ends up with  
[Well you'll get it eventually.]  
before I ask it to explain it further. 

So basically, when you enter a mystery dungeon, especially on flat surfaces like this forest, there are changes in the terrain every time you enter it. So if you enter this dungeon a second time you'll find that a familiar tree is located somewhere else where you're not familiar with. To go the next floor, you have to find the Staircase, which in this case is like a portal that'll take you deeper into the dungeon. There's still a lot of things to be confused about with mystery dungeons, but I shouldn't focus on them too much or it'll fry my brain cells. What matters is this:  
We're in a mystery dungeon. So just keep going until you make it out.

But there's still one question that I'm actually curious about. 

[But you Pokémon actually live here, right? Isn't it stressful getting lost all the time?]  
[Oh goodness no! Residences of mystery dungeons are actually never lost. It's like a benefit for living here. Hmmm, I'm not sure how that works, though.]

I see. So that means that mystery dungeons serve as a sort of defense protocol in protecting its inhabitants. That's pretty cool. 

[So can I live here?]  
[No, only Pokémon born here can.]

Wow, shot down right off the bat. Not so cool anymore. But anyways, I got enough information I need to know. 

[Alright, I think I learned enough. Thanks for the help, uh, Weedle.]  
[No problem, Pawniard.]  
[Uhh, you can just call me Tai--]

I pause for moment. There doesn't seem to be nicknames here. I called it Weedle a while ago and it seemed fine. And based on the games, the NPC Pokémon call each other by their species name. So should I just go with Pawniard? But if there comes a situation where I'm with a group of Pawniard, and if someone tries to call me out personally, the other Pawniard will turn to attention as well. So I should think of a nickname that is easy to tell myself apart but also isn't too conspicuous. 

[Tai?]  
[I-I mean, uuhh, Paw! Just call me Paw.]  
[Oh, alright then, Paw-san. You're actually a really nice Pokémon!]

It gives a smile. Or rather, I think it is. Its eyes seem happy, so I'll just assume it is.  
Anyways, I think it's best that I don't give my real name. But it's actually rather embarrassing to be called by nickname. I mean, everyone I know back in Tokyo just calls me Hanamura or Taiki. It feels somewhat liberating but it's still embarrassing. I should get used to that nickname. And who the hell is Paw?! I'm terrible at nicknames....

[Alright then, Weedle...-san. I should be going now. Thanks for your help.]

It'll feel weird if I'm the only one given the honorific. At any rate, this ends my first eventful encounter. 

I start walking away until the Weedle calls out to me. 

[W-wait! Do you even know where you're going? Let me go with you. I'll help guide you out of this dungeon.]  
[Eh? Really??]  
[Yeah. Think of it as a way of me paying you back for attacking you earlier.]

Hmmm. Now that I think about it, it has a point. Despite my game-knowledge on mystery dungeons, I'll indeed have a difficult time navigating through this place. A guide out of here will be like a tutorial before the real deal, which is exactly what I need. OK, it's decided. 

[Alright, I appreciate it. Thanks, Weedle-san.]  
[OK! Let's get along then, Paw-san!]

*ting!*  
Eh? What's that ring for? Does that mean that Weedle-san's part of my party now? I've always played solo in MMORPG games, so this is a first. So in a game sense, it'll be like

WEEDLE JOINED YOUR PARTY!

kind of notification. 

Well then, to time to set off. 

Ah, but before that--

[Ah, wait a moment. There's one more favor I need to ask of you, Weedle-san.]  
[Eh? What is it?]  
[Can you cover my hands with your String Shot?]  
[Eh?! Why?! But now that think about it, you never attacked us with your hands...]  
[Yeah, I have...bad experiences with them. So it's best that I have these covered.]  
[OK then, if you say so. Can you lend out your hands please?]

And so Weedle-san got to work on my hands. Not only did it cover it with String Shot, but it also covered the threaded layer with leaves. Since the String Shot has adhesive properties, the leaves are able to stick quite well. And voila! 

YOU HAVE EQUIPPED "LEAF GLOVES"!!

\--which would be the notification in my head if this was a real game, but it didn't happen. There wasn't even a ring. I guess it's probably because this was hand-made. I'll think about it at another time. 

I look at my new-worn gloves. *sigh*  
Good, no more blades. At least for my hands. I don't think I'll have to worry about the blades on my head and torso. If I have them covered too, I'll just look weirder. 

[Thanks. Alright then, lead the way.]  
[Un! Let's go!]

And so I venture together with Weedle-san as my guide in the Lake of Trees.


	4. Weedle's Tutorial

According to Weedle-san, it'll only take a few hours to get to the 12th floor. And true to my great navigation skills (thank you, oh magnificent Google-sama!!) it is still morning, so we would get there by early afternoon.   
After a few minutes on our way to the staircase, we encountered wild Pokémon. Well, it's sure to happen at one point. 

From the path ahead of us I see a small, rounded blue Pokémon heading our way. It looks like a Poliwag. And it looks mad. 

[Uh-oh! Get ready for battle, Paw-san!]  
[Battle?]

All of a sudden, I see rings of water heading towards us. It looks quite mesmerizing. Like smoke rings, but clear water. Then I realize what it is. 

[!! Water Pulse! Get down!]

I push Weedle-san down and I quickly ducked. The water rings passed right by and cause a splash at the trees behind us. That was dangerous. It'd be bad if I get into a confused state. 

[Woah, that was close! Thank you, Paw-san!]  
[Thank me later. For now, battle.]  
[OK!]

Despite how dramatic that line was, the battle ended pretty quickly. I charged straight to the Poliwag, and just when it looks like it's about to shoot something, I gave it a kick to the side. The Poliwag was sent flying and crashed in the bushes. 

That just now wasn't a Feint Attack; it was just a kick. In the franchise, Pokémon are capable of attacking without the use of actual Pokémon Moves. It's a small melee attack that doesn't do that much damage. But mine looked like it did a number on the Poliwag. That's likely because my Attack is still increased from the String Shots a while ago. I don't remember if increased stats affect the melee attacks, but apparently it does in this world. 

I approach to the bushes where the Poliwag was sent flying. As expected, the Poliwag looks fainted. Hm? There's something shiny beside it. It looks like...coins?

[Is this...Poké-money?]  
[Hm? Oh hey! That Poliwag dropped some Coin! Lucky!]

So they're called "coin"? Not Poké-money or Poké-yen? Well, in games they're always symbolized as a golden coin, so it's reasonable that the actual residences of this world, Pokémon, would call it that. Back in old times there wasn't any name for currencies, either. So I guess this counts as one of those situations. But wait--

[You're just going to take them? Isn't that stealing?]  
[Hm? Well you defeated Poliwag. It's only natural that we take what's dropped.]

Wait, what? What's with this messed up morality?! Well I get it if it's a game, but this is real! Is this some kind of winner-superiority tradition for Pokémon? I realized that I actually still have a lot to learn here.   
Weedle-san squirmed to my side and took the coins. I don't know how it did it but when Weedle-san stepped over the coins, it disappeared. 

[Where'd it go?]  
[The Coin? It's in my Pocket Bag.]  
[Pocket... Bag???]  
OK, now that's definitely something I don't know.

[You don't know? It's what we use to bring things we can't physically carry. Everyone has one. See, look.]

Weedle-san then stepped forward. When it retreated, the coins are reappeared on the ground. And it looks like there's more now. Now I'm even more confused. 

[I understand how you feel, Paw-san. Not everyone actually knows what it is. It's one of the greatest mysteries of the world after all. Aside from mystery dungeons, of course. Go on, try it out.]

Weedle-san stepped back. So I just, take it? I scooped the coins with my gloved-hands. I counted 25 coins. Great, now what? 

[Now what?]  
[Just put it close to you and put it in your Pocket Bag.]

Yeah, I get that. But HOW?! I stare at the coins. I try remember the novels I read about super-powers. "It's all in the state of mind." So maybe it's something to do with imagining it?   
I bring them close to me and close my eyes. I imagine the coins somewhere else. A pocket dimension. I imagine it becoming lighter, lighter than air, as though it doesn't exist.   
When I open my eyes, the coins are gone. 

[...You didn't take it, did you?]  
[Of course not! C'mon, bring them out again!]

Weedle-san retorted. OK, so how do I take it out? If it's a Pocket Bag, perhaps I should think of it like a bottomless pocket? I reach my hand to my waist, like I'm getting something inmy pocket. True enough, I felt a sudden jingle. I could feel the 25 coins. Woah. Let's try just one coin. I imagine getting one from the bundle, and a coin sticks to my hand like a magnet. And I brought it out. 

[See, you did it! You'll get used to it eventually, so don't think about too much.]  
[R-right. Thanks. Let's go.]

Continuing on, we encountered more Poliwag, and some Sewaddle and Kakuna. Obviously we had to fight them off. 

[Is it alright for you to attack your own, uuuh, "neighbors", like this?]  
[It's fine. The Pokémon residents can tell who's not a part of their dungeon. And if a resident happens to join the outsider, it would count itself as an outsider as well.]  
[Oh, I'm... sorry to hear that.]  
[It's fine, it's fine. Don't worry about it.]

But how can it be fine? You're basically cutting ties with your home, and now they recognize you as an enemy. Isn't that really bad? I keep these feelings to myself as we kept forward. 

*ting!*  
Huh, another ring. I didn't do any move, so could it be I leveled up? How do I even check my level? I should ask Weedle-san later. 

We also found some items. A couple of Oran Berries and Heal Seeds. This means two things. One, FOOD!! And two, I finally know their actually size. The berries are, to my surprise, about the size of apples. But they're round and have tiny rumps, so it's like a big, blue tangerine. The seeds are quite big--about 3 inches. 

Now I have come to terms with another problem: How do I eat? Do I EVEN eat?   
I stare hard at the Oran Berry I'm holding.

[Paw-san? Are you alright?]  
[Eh? Uuh, yeah. I'm fine. Hey, is it alright that I eat this?]  
[If you're hungry, sure, that's fine. You did pick it up so it's yours to eat. It'll be bad if you get too hungry in a dungeon, so don't worry about it.]

"Hungry"? Speaking of which, Hunger is a concept in the game up until the PMD: Explorers series. In the game there's meter bar below your HP indicating how hungry or full you are. If your hunger bar is empty your HP bar will slowly be depleted so you have to make sure that you're constantly fed. But those games only had until 4th generation Pokémon. I'm of the 5th generation, and we encountered others of the same generation too. So that means we're in a PMD world with the concept of the Explorers series but with 5th generation Pokémon included. I still have to find out if there's even Pokémon from 6th generation. 

Now then, back to food. So, how exactly do I eat when I don't even have a mouth? Well, I can talk just fine, so it might be a another mind-over-matter thing. I bring the berry to my mouth (where I think my mouth is anyway) and imagine getting bite out of it.

*chomp*

Woah, it actually worked! But more than that--

[IT'S DELICIOUS!!!!!]

I shouted. I see Weedle-san jumping in shock but that doesn't matter. What's with this taste?! This sweet, juicy taste. It's like getting a bite from jelly; so soft, but when you continue to chew it becomes juicy. I feel so revitalized! Never before have I felt this refreshed! No wonder Oran Berries heal!

[E-eh? Paw-san, could this perhaps be your first time eating an Oran Berry??]  
[S-s-sorry. Sorry. It's just... been a while...]  
[I, see... OK then.]

Weedle-san tilts it's head but continues forward. *Phew*, he believed my lie. More importantly, I should he prepared to try the different foods of this world!

 

After a while, we finally reached the Staircase. 

[Here we are! Let's start climbing so that we can get to the next floor.]  
[...Eh? We have to climb that to get to the next floor?]

Right in front of us is an actual, stone staircase. It's about 2-3 meters in height and width. It's like a stone box cut into stairs. But there's nothing above it. It's just a staircase leading to nothing. 

[Just trust me. You'll understand soon enough.]

Weedle pushes me to the Staircase. Alright then, fine. To hell with physics!

We start going up the Staircase, and once stepped on the last step my vision starts to distort. I shake my head to clear it, but once my vision's clear I notice that we're on the ground again. I also feel my strength weakened. Or rather, I feel it reverting back to normal. Must be because my stat increase was reset just like in the games.   
I look around me and see the Staircase nowhere in sight. 

[Just like that? We're on the next floor?]  
[Yep. Now c'mon, we're only halfway there.]

Weedle-san goes on ahead as if nothing happened. Well, I guess it's already used to it. It does live here after all. And so I quickly try to catch up to it.

 

On the 8th floor, I realized something that I haven't noticed until now. I call out to Weedle-san in front of me. 

[Hey, are a male or a female?]

Weedle-san suddenly jumps and turns around with wide-eyes, so fast and at the same time that I find it funny.

[H-h-how rude!! I'm a male!! Isn't that obvious?! A-and here I thought you'd actually be a nice Pokémon!!]  
[Ehehe, sorry about that.]

So it's a HE. I've been calling him "it" in my head the whole time that I haven't noticed. I don't think I'll be able to distinguish gender differences with the Pokémon here until I hear obvious voice pitches or if I hear someone else addressing them. There are actually gender differences with some Pokémon, but not all. I'll have to be careful and just go with the flow. 

Weedle-san squints at me. Uh-oh, I think he's finding me suspicious now. Crap. Sweat starts flowing down on my head (huh, so I can sweat too).

[You really are an odd Pokémon, huh? You don't even act like a Pawniard.]  
[Uuuh, hehe. I get that a lot. Hehe...]

Try to laugh it off. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap--

[Well, whatever. I think it suits you better, being nice and all.]

-*phew*. So I'm safe. I let an exhale of relief as I follow Weedle-san through the forest. 

 

The next 3 floors were a breeze, and thanks to that I was able to learn various things from Weedle-san. Three important ones are as follows:  
First, I learned that true to the game you can only learn 4 moves at a time. If you learn a new move, you'll have to forget an old move, and if you want to remember the old move, there's a place where remembering moves is possible, but Weedle-san doesn't know where that is.   
I tried using the move Scratch, which Pawniard should know at a level 1, but nothing happened. I just swang at the air with my arm. I notice Weedle trying not to laugh. Ugh, that was embarrassing.   
As of now I have Feint Attack and Scary Face. But I don't wish to try other attack moves, because most of them, if not all, have something to do with using my hands. I'd like to avoid using these at all costs so I'll have to stick to what I have for now.   
Thankfully, Weedle-san mentions that there are some treasures that allow Pokémon to learn a new move. According to him, they are rare, round mirrors with a hole in the middle that can be randomly found in mystery dungeons. There's no doubt that he's talking about TM's; Technical Machines. If I'm able to find one I will be able to use moves that don't require me to use my hands directly.   
Second, Weedle only knows the Pokémon he met or heard about in this forest, such as the common bug-type and grass-type Pokémon. He also knows famous explorers such as "Team Rage", who are composed of Tauros, Primape, and Amoongus, and rescue teams such as "Team Shield", who are composed of Bastiodon and Skarmory. These team names are not mentioned in the previous games, so it's mosy likely that I could be in an entirely new land of the PMD world.   
Third, the Pocket Bag has limited space depending on size of the owner. So you can't keep things that are bigger than you. Basically if I measure my height using Oran Berries, which is about 13 berries stacked up, then I can only keep 13 Oran Berries. Of course, you also have to count the different items that you can keep.   
This means that the Pocket Bag is almost entirely different from the the bag in the real games. 

Also, I realized that Weedle-san is actually quite reliable. Not what I expected, but he could make a good teacher. Maybe I should start calling him "Weedle-sensei".

[Well, we're here. The last Staircase.]

And without me noticing, we've already reached the Staircase. 

[It's only a clearing on the 12th floor, so we won't have to worry about wild Pokémon.]  
[Oh, I see. That's good. I really appreciate the help, Weedle-sensei.]  
[S-s-s-ssssensei?!?!]

Weedle-sensei looks at me with wide-eyes. I guess I'm not surprised. I mean, who would call a Weedle sensei? But,

[Well you did help me out the entire time we started. And I learned a lot thanks to you.]  
[I-I see. He..hehe. Yeah, you're right! Hehehe!! I'd make a great sensei!! Wahahahaha!!]

He starts laughing with I think is pride. If he had arms I'd say he would put his hands on his waist like a proud old man would. Uh-oh, I think I motivated him a bit too much. I hope he doesn't hurt himself because of it. 

[At any rate, let's go up.]  
[E-eh? R-right, let's go!]

Weedle-sensei snapped back to its senses, and we climb the last Staircase. 

We don't seem to be the only ones there though. 

[IYAAAAAAAH!!!!]

I guess another event has triggered.


End file.
